Christmas Markets of Poland, Prague & Germany - Small Group, Winter

Transfers for your hotel depart from Kraków airport. Meet your Travel Director and fellow travelers at 17:00 for a welcome dinner with wine at a local restaurant. Afterwards, get your first taste of Polish old-world charm with a walk around the magnificent Cloth Hall in the Market Square. Wrapped in romantic gabled townhouses and Gothic spires, the festive Christmas Market stalls are a Disneyesque dream, offering all sorts of delicacies and delights - from Highland woollen slippers to amber jewelery from the Baltic. Maybe try the traditional oscypek cheese with cranberries, a delicacy from the Tatra mountains?

Ascend Wawel Hill with your Local Expert to see the Renaissance castle and visit the cathedral – the final resting place of the Kings of Poland. Then cross the former Jewish Quarter of Kazimierz to Old Podgórze, the Old Town, to see Ghetto Square and remains of the Ghetto Wall. The rest of the day is at leisure or perhaps choose to visit the Wieliczka Salt Mine? There is time to explore the traditional Christmas Market located in the Old Town's historic district. You'll find yourself immersed in festive spirit as you shop for authentic Christmas decorations, gifts, toys and tasty treats.

Visit Auschwitz before your journey to the city of Wrocław, known as the Venice of Poland, made up of five rivers, 12 islands and over 150 bridges. Rated as one of the finest in Europe, Wrocław’s Christmas Market offers a delightful, fairy-tale charm. Enjoy an orientation of the market, located in Rynek, the historic main square which is surrounded by Baroque splendor and adorned with thousands of twinkling lights. Enjoy a MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience as you taste delicious gingerbread. Using only local ingredients, they are baked following the traditional recipes of Lower Silesia region. Spend time exploring the vast array of stalls bursting with local crafts and tasty treats.

Leave your hotel in Wroclaw and cross the Czech border, continuing your travels to the historic capital of Prague.

Explore Prague with Insight Choice. Choose to walk the courtyards of the Castle and visit the imposing St. Vitus Cathedral. Alternatively, join your Local Expert through the Jewish Quarter and hear about the history, traditions and legends of the Jewish people.  Then, down at the Old Town Square, Prague’s colorful Christmas Market contrasts with the Gothic skyline. Beneath a giant Christmas tree, draped in a blaze of lights, locals browse the decorative wooden stalls. Meet a local stallholder and savor a glass of Svařák, traditional mulled wine, along with the local Trdelník pastry.

Cross the German border to Dresden. Gaze up at the Frauenkirche, risen once again from wartime ashes. Your guided exploration with a Local Expert will continue past the colossal 'Procession of the Dukes' mosaic, the cathedral, Semper Opera House and Zwinger Palace. During your free time perhaps seek out the delicious Christstollen, a Christmas cake recipe dating back to medieval times, or shop for a traditional Christmas pyramid. Then journey on to Berlin.

Join a Local Expert to see the Brandenburg Gate, State Opera House, remnants of the Berlin Wall, Unter den Linden, and the beautifully-restored Reichstag building. Feel free to soak up the Weihnachtszauber, or Christmas magic, at the Gendarmenmarkt, which is Berlin’s most magnificent square.  In the evening, join your friends for a festive Celebration Dinner with wine and good cheer at a local restaurant.

Your journey draws to a close after breakfast. Departure transfers arrive at Berlin airport.